Improvement in barrel-shifting mechanisms for machine-guns



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

l DSW. o. P,ARRIN'GTO. Barrel-Shifting Mechanisms for Machine-Guns.

No. 198,366.. Patented Dec. 18,1877.

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TO-LTTHOGRAPHEK, WASH NGTON D C 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

DeW. C. FARRINGTON. Barrel-Shifting Mechanisms for Machine-Guns.

N0.198,366. )29nd Patented Dec.18,1877.

wf/Wwe 7b2/uk al Wl m N.PETERS, PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON, ove.

UNITED STATES fPATETDFFIGE.

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f. Specification forming part of VLetters Patent No.198366, dated December 18, 1877 ,'.yapplication filed i -1yray i,1e77. 1`

To alt whom it mayoohcern;

Be a i; 'Own that Lint; wm o., mitmac- TQN, of4v Lowell, inthe county of Middlesex and State 4of Massachusetts, haveinvented a vnew and useful Improyeinent in Barrel Shifting an d. Supporting Mech anism for Machine-Guns, off

which the followingis a specicato`11;

The` present invention relates te machineguns'which have a group orv nest oflbarrels, and it has for its main object to providean. efficient and ready means of shifting the. barrels, at the pleasure of the gunners, asonebarrel after another becomes heated, and also to provide a means of supporting 'the barrels, whereby they willhave the requisite longitudinal play, to compensate for any extension produced by the high temperature which accompanies rapid firing, without having their parallelism with each other disturbed, and whereby they may be readily lifted and conveniently supported for purposes of examination or cleaning.

The accompanying drawings (two sheets) show the improved mechanism as applied to a group of four barrels, the iiveigures on Sheet l (Figs. l to 5, inclusive) giving various views of the shifting devices, and the several gures on Sheet 2 (Figs. 6 to 8, inclusive) showing the mode of supporting the muzzle end of the barrels and providing for the longitudinal play.

Figure lis a rear elevation of the barrels and the shifting devices. Fig. 2 is afront elevation of the same, thc shifting-lever being shown partly in section. Fig. Bis arear elevation of the same parts, showing the barrels as partially rotated and midway between two consecutive firing positions. Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the parts as shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail view of the spring-bolt for locking the barrels against accidental rotation. Fig. 6 is a plan view of the muzzlesupporting devices. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the barrels, showing the muzzle-supports in section; and Fig. Sis a transverse view of the parts on aplane immediately behind the muzzle-supporting ring.

Referring to these drawings, it will be seen that the barrels are mounted in two disksone, A, at their rear, and one, B, near their muzzles-and these disks again are supported by, and turn within, the rings C and D. Of

v these rings', the rear one is Asustained by means f of side ears `restingon the breech-frame of the gun, while the otherfo'ne is pivoted to thefforward end ofthearms E E, projecting forward from thebreech-frame, so as to turn freely on a horizontal axis. An annular shoulder or step is lformed oneach'of ,the barrelsupporting disks. InV thecase of, therear disk this shoulder is cut into a'series, of ratchet-teeth, corre! spondingin number @to the number ofthe barreis, and designed to work in conjunction with the pawl ofthe shifting-lever, as hereinafter explained; andin thecase of the forward ,diskthe shoulder lon its periphery isV arranged to abut-'against a corresponding shoulder on the innerfaceof the supporting-ring, which construction is designed to prevent the barrels from falling through the muzzle-ring when they are tilted upon the horizontal pivots of such ring.

F is the shiftin g-lever, provided with a springpawl, G, and pivoted to the disk A, so as to turn freely thereon, and H is a spring-detent for locking the barrels against further or accidental rotationwhen once shifted. Thepawl G carries upon its side a trippet or lifter, I, which passes alternately under and over the head of the detent H as the shifting-lever moves forward and back.

The operation of this part ofthe mechanism is as follows: As the shifting-lever is thrown from left to right the toe or lifter I passes under the head of the detent-bolt H, and lifts its point out of engagement with the periphery of the disk A, thus leaving the barrels free to be rotated. Immediately thereafter, and before the lifter I has released the bolt H, the

pawl Ghas engaged with a tooth of the ratchet,

and begun to rotate the disk, so that the bolt H will be sustained in its elevated position even after the lifter I has passed out from under its head, and will remain so until the lever reaches its extreme throw, when the bolt will drop into the next hole, j, in the disk A, and thus securely lock the barrels against further rotation until the detent is again raised.

In returning the shifting-lever to its original position, the barrels are held by the detent H, and the pawl G rides up on the inclined face ofthe ratchet-tooth next behind it. 'Ihis keeps the lifter I raised until it has passed over the head of the detent, when the paWl drops into the next succeeding depression of the ratchet, ready, when required, to move the barrels forward another step.

K K are two pinsprojecting rearward from the ring C, designed to operate in conjunction with the housing of the hopper, which fits down upon them, to lock the` barrels down against vertical displacement.

The barrels are screwed into the rear disk A, having no longitudinal play therein; but, as is clearly shown in the drawings, each barrel has an independent play Within certain limits in the muzzle-supporting disk B, and this disk, in turn, has a limited play in its supportingring.

From this construction it follows that when a barrel becomes heated under rapid firing and expands, it can slide in the muzzle-disk; andif this expansion proceeds until the shoulder on the barrel meets the disk, then the disk can be carried bodily forward within the sur-l rounding ring, sliding on the other barrels. Thusv both the disk and all the other barrels are protected from injurious strain and warping by the heating of any one barrel.

Whenever, for the purpose of inspection,

cleaning, or removal of a foreign body, it be-f comes necessary to get access to the rear of the barrels, this is easily e'ected by the use of the horizontal pivots or trunnions on which the muzzle-ring l) is hung. Upon releasing the rearv of the barrels from the holding-down vdevices, the lentire tilted up upon these trunnions, and secured temporarily in such position by passing a bar across the two arms E E underneath the barrels. The annular shoulder on the periphery of the disk B prevents the barrels, when thus tilted, from sliding through the muzzle-ring.

1. The combination of the ratchet-disk supporting the rear of the barrels and the shifting-lever with its pawl.

2. In combination with the shifting-lever,

the spring detent, operating in combination with thebarrel-supports, for locking thebarrels against accidental rotation.

3. In combination with the barrel-supports, pins or lugs projecting rearwardly therefrom, for locking down the barrels against vertical displacement, substantially as set forth.

4. In combination with a group of barrels in a machinegun, external supports in the form of rings, for Ypermitting the barrels to be readily shifted, the parts being constructed substantially as described.

5. In combination with a group of barrels in a machine-gun, Va muzzle-supporting disk v working in a ring mounted on trunnions, for

permitting the barrels to be readily tilted, as occasion requires.

DE WITT C. FARRINGTON.

Witnesses: Y

WALTER H. MCDANIELS,

C. S. LIVINGSTON.

system of barrels can be 

